A father who accidentally left his 6-month-old daughter in his car all day after forgetting to take her to day care won’t face manslaughter charges, the Miami Herald reports (paywall alert).
The baby was trapped in the car for more than eight hours and died of heat stroke. In some such cases, parents are charged with manslaughter. But this time, a Miami-Dade judge said the father’s conduct was a “one-time memory lapse” that didn’t warrant criminal charges.
Investigators say the father, Lazaro Ramos, discovered he had forgotten his daughter after he had left his office in Doral. As soon as he noticed she was still in the car, he called 911 and cooperated in the investigation, the Herald reports.
Prison time is rare in cases where children are left in hot vehicles. In 2013, four children in Florida died in hot cars.
